A Fish Caught in a Trap
A Fish Caught in a Trap
Just as Crown Prince Blef's unit was thrown into confusion upon realizing they were surrounded, Daniel, who had inadvertently encircled the enemy, was equally bewildered.
'No. Why would they come here....'
Daniel couldn't fathom what strategic value this forward base in the basin possessed that would warrant a surprise attack.
'Could it be they're after me? If the enemy unit knew my location....'
That would explain the reason for the raid.
The figure of Daniel Steiner carried the symbolic weight of being an 'Imperial hero.'
Capturing that symbol would not only severely damage Imperial morale but also provide leverage in negotiations with the Empire.
'But....'
The information that Daniel Steiner had been assigned a mission and deployed for operational support was a Class 1 secret.
The enemy knowing that Class 1 secret meant only one thing.
'It means there's someone inside the Empire colluding with the enemy.'
It wasn't unusual.
Anyone in the upper class with access to intelligence on the Republic and Federal State's military buildup knew how precarious the Empire's position was.
It was a sign of the times that some would sell secrets to the enemy to secure their own survival.
But the fact that someone with access to Class 1 secrets was colluding with the enemy left a deeply unsettling feeling.
'And their objective was to hand me over to the Allied Nations....'
Once the situation was resolved, that would need to be investigated in due course.
"Battalion Commander! The withdrawal route has been completely blocked! Give us your next order!"
Daniel turned his head to the side.
Company Commander Varnrad was looking at him with eyes full of loyalty, which felt quite burdensome.
'It seems he thinks I predicted everything and ordered an operation disguised as training....'
He had simply been killing time by forcing them through pointless drills, and they just happened to get lucky.
But since he was in no position to state the truth, Daniel took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
"We will wait here until the enemy makes a move. Radio operator."
The radio operator who had been shadowing Daniel answered vigorously.
"Yes! Battalion Commander!"
"By now, those bastards will have realized they're surrounded. They'll be searching for a way to contact us through the communications outpost to negotiate, so switch to the common frequency and send a transmission."
"Understood. What message shall I relay?"
In this situation, there was only one thing to convey.
"Advise them to surrender immediately. Add that if their response is delayed or any suspicious movement is observed, they will experience hell."
"Understood!"
The radio operator, having answered promptly, knelt down, set down the military radio, and began transmitting.
Daniel, who had been watching the scene for a moment, let out a low sigh.
'This is driving me crazy....'
Daniel had intended to simply do nothing here and kill time, but an enemy unit had blundered in on its own and gotten itself surrounded.
It was so absurd, like seeing fish caught in a trap, that a hollow laugh escaped him.
Beside him, Varnrad, who had been watching Daniel, swallowed hard.
'He's finally showing a smile now that things are going according to plan. So this is what they call a genius staff officer.'
If Daniel Steiner had been the enemy, it wouldn't have been Blef's unit that was surrounded now—it would have been Varnrad himself.
Thinking that, Varnrad found Daniel's gloomy laughter needlessly terrifying.
While the other soldiers also looked upon Daniel with awe, the radio operator, having finished communications, looked up at him.
"Battalion Commander! We've established communication and confirmed a receiver, but they are deliberately ignoring the surrender advisory."
Were they conflicted?
Indeed, even though they were surrounded, the enemy unit slightly outnumbered his own forces.
The superiors would surely pin their hopes on escaping, even at the cost of losing troops.
'In that case, I'll have to crush that hope.'
He had to show them there was no hope to secure their surrender.
"They intend to buy time by delaying their response. The more time the enemy has, the more disadvantageous it is for us, so we can't just sit still."
"Then...."
"Switch to the operational frequency and order the snipers to fire. The targets are the officers excluding the crown prince. Once the officers are killed and the chain of command collapses, immense confusion will surely descend upon them."
A unit suffering from command confusion is no better than a rabble.
"Immediately after the officers are dealt with, order the support company to commence high-angle bombardment. The target is the forward base the enemy has occupied."
If they lost their command structure and their surroundings turned into utter chaos under shelling, the enemy would have no choice but to give up and raise the white flag.
"They wished for it, so I suppose we must show them."
Daniel, gazing toward the forward base, narrowed his eyes sharply.
"A hell they will never wish to experience again."
*
At the same moment, chaos was intensifying within Crown Prince Blef's unit.
"Your Highness! You must surrender! Given the current battle situation, defeating the enemy is nigh impossible!"
"Are you telling me to not only be defeated but to also be taken prisoner by the enemy?! Talk sense! Who would support me if I were captured while leading the kingdom's elite troops?!"
Colonel Galevalt tried every means to persuade Blef, but it was not easy.
Even knowing they were surrounded, Blef considered only his political standing and ordered an escape, not surrender.
With Blef obstinately refusing, the battalion commander had dispatched a single company to secure a withdrawal route, but in Galevalt's eyes, it was a meaningless act.
This place was a basin surrounded by mountainous terrain with only one way out.
If the enemy decided to block the withdrawal route, they would be utterly helpless.
That was why he was recommending surrender, but Blef refused to listen.
"Your Highness! This is not the time to think of the future; you must consider the present—"
Mid-sentence, a 'peok' sound of something bursting was heard.
At the same time, blood and flesh flew up before their eyes.
Galevalt hurriedly turned toward the source of the sound and saw that the battalion commander who had been issuing orders moments ago had his head blown apart.
The silence was brief, and the action was swift.
"Damn it! Sniper! The enemy attack has begun! Everyone protect His Highness!"
As soon as he gave the order, Galevalt grabbed Blef's hand and ran.
"Into the building! Everyone into the building!"
Galevalt, having shouted at the top of his lungs, formed a mana barrier in all directions.
The escort soldiers also ran after the crown prince, raising their bulletproof shields high.
"Staff officer? What in the world...."
It was at that moment that Blef, who had known nothing of the brutality of war, opened his mouth in a daze.
Kwaaaaang─
Not far away, a high-explosive shell struck the ground, and a pillar of fire shot up.
The earth's axis shook and vision flickered.
As he struggled to keep his body, which felt ready to collapse, upright, Galevalt shouted.
"We must go! Quickly!"
Only then did Blef come to his senses and force himself into a nearby building.
Once the escort soldiers were all inside, Galevalt hurriedly shut the iron door.
Kung! Kung─
Outside the iron door, the sounds of high-explosive shells hitting the ground and detonating continued to ring out.
That terrible noise left his ears ringing with a sharp tinnitus.
"...Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Thanks to Galevalt grabbing his shoulders and shaking him, Blef barely regained his senses.
"Staff officer? What on earth is happening...."
"It is not too late even now! If we continue like this, we'll die like dogs!"
"Die like dogs? When the company sent to secure the withdrawal route returns...."
Galevalt clenched his teeth tightly and frowned.
It was an expression Blef had never seen on Galevalt before.
"How do you expect a single company to secure a withdrawal route! If the enemy is fully prepared to block the retreat, securing it would be difficult even with the battalion's entire force!"
At this rate, everyone would die.
Galevalt kept repeating those words.
Blef, breaking out in a cold sweat, had no choice but to nod.
"T-Tell them we surrender. So tell them to stop the bombardment! Please...!"
If a shell fell on his head, Blef too could not escape death.
When Blef, consumed by the terror of death, declared surrender, Galevalt nodded.
He approached the soldier carrying the Imperial Army radio and took the transceiver.
After pressing the transmit button and taking a deep breath, Galevalt spoke.
"This is Colonel Galevalt, direct staff officer attending His Highness Blef of the Kingdom of Belmore. I speak on behalf of His Highness's will."
After a brief silence, Galevalt opened his mouth with difficulty.
"...We surrender."
*
The moment Galevalt conveyed their intention to surrender, the bombardment ceased.
Daniel ordered disarmament via radio, and Blef's unit complied, throwing all their weapons into a warehouse and raising the white flag.
After cross-verification confirmed the enemy had truly surrendered, Daniel finally revealed himself.
Blef, standing in a daze in a uniform soiled with dust and dirt, saw them.
In the distance, Imperial soldiers clad in black uniforms were approaching.
And leading them was none other than Daniel Steiner.
The thought that he had been toyed with by that man made his teeth grind.
As Blef suppressed his rage, the sound of numerous military boots drew steadily closer.
Leading the troops, Daniel halted his steps about ten paces away from Blef.
To Blef, who was glaring at him, Daniel placed a hand over one side of his chest and offered a respectful greeting.
"Crown Prince. As you may know, I am called Daniel Steiner. It is truly regrettable that matters have come to this."
"Regrettable? You dare attack royalty and say regrettable?"
Daniel, having let out a low chuckle, shook his head.
"There seems to be a slight misapprehension in those words. Out of respect for Your Highness, I first advised surrender."
That calm countenance was utterly repulsive.
Blef clenched his fist tightly, but Daniel continued in an even tone.
"It was entirely Your Highness who refused to resolve matters peacefully. Therefore—"
"Will you not shut that mouth!"
In a fit of rage, Blef drew a pistol from his chest.
Instantly, the Imperial soldiers raised their rifles in unison.
In the hair-trigger situation, a heavy silence flowed.
Everyone was taken aback, but Daniel alone was glaring silently at Blef with his hands behind his back.
During the lengthy silence, Daniel raised a hand.
It was a signal to lower their muzzles, and the Imperial soldiers obeyed without objection.
But Blef alone was still aiming his pistol at Daniel.
"To attack after having surrendered."
In the stillness, Daniel blinked a few times and then suddenly let out a laugh.
"That single shot would be remembered in history forever. For it would be a blatant violation of international war laws. Isn't that right."
Blef did not answer.
But his hand was visibly trembling.
"Ah. Of course, it would only remain as the Empire's history."
His smile gone, Daniel looked at Blef and narrowed his eyes.
"For in the future I envision, the Kingdom of Belmore does not exist."
Did it seem like the Allied Nations would take responsibility for some minor kingdom that violated international law to the bitter end?
Moreover, if the principal offender was the crown prince, the nation's very existence would be put at risk.
Daniel's words were ostensibly reasonable, and Blef ultimately removed his finger from the trigger.
As he let the strength drain from his hand, the pistol fell downward and struck the ground.
"Damn it. Damn it all...."
Believing everything was over now, Blef bowed his head and sobbed lowly.
Daniel approached Blef, grabbed his shoulder, and spoke benevolently.
"You have made the right choice."
That sly tongue of his made Blef's skin crawl.
'This bastard....'
He felt it keenly—this was a being who would exploit even his own life for the Empire's gain.